April 4, 2012
University Park, Pa. - The No. 47 Penn State women's tennis team (10-6, 2-3) looks to bounce back from two losses last weekend, when it hosts No. 33 Minnesota (12-4, 2-3) and Wisconsin (10-7, 1-4) this weekend. The Nittany Lions will face the Golden Gophers on Friday at 3:30 p.m., which is an hour and a half earlier than what was previously scheduled. Free pizza will be available to all fans in attendance at Friday's match. On Sunday, Penn State will take on Wisconsin at 11:00 a.m. The Nittany Lions look to continue their success on their home court this season, where they have posted a 9-2 record in Happy Valley.
Last weekend, Penn State traveled to the Midwest to take on Iowa and No. 18 Nebraska. Despite the two losses, Nina Sertic (Zagrab, Croatia) went an undefeated, 2-0, in her singles matches. The senior picked up the only point for the Nittany Lions in the loss to Nebraska. Additionally, the pairing of Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada) and Chelsea Utting (Peachtree City, Ga.) was also victorious in both of their doubles matches, including a win over No. 40 Madeleine Geibert and Stefanie Weinstein of Nebraska. Along with Sertic, Utting and Marie-Frederique Bedard (Montreal, Canada) also picked up singles victories in the loss to Iowa.
Tyler Thomson enters his 11th season at the helm of the Golden Gopher program. Natallia Pintusava and Magdalena Wiecha lead No. 33 Minnesota in the No. 1 doubles position, garnering a No. 39 national ranking with an 8-2 record. Pintusava enters her sophomore campaign after being named to the All-Big Ten team last season as a freshman. The Nittany Lions are 6-16 all-time against the Golden Gophers. Last season, Penn State defeated Minnesota, 4-3.
In Brian Fleishman's five seasons as head coach of the Badgers, Wisconsin has continually improved - including a 14-11 record last season, its best finish since 2005. Alaine Trgovich leads Wisconsin in the No. 1 singles position, posting a 10-6 record so far this season, including a victory over No. 14 Jeltje Loomas of No. 62 William and Mary. Wisconsin also holds the advantage over Penn State in the all-time series record, boasting a 3-19 lead. The Nittany Lions have not defeated the Badgers since the spring of 2008.
Next up, Penn State will head to Illinois to take on No. 14 Northwestern on Sat., April 14 at 11 a.m. and No. 19 Illinois on Sun., April 15, also at 11 a.m. After that, the Nittany Lions will return home for their last match in Happy Valley, when they host No. 15 Michigan on Fri., April 20 at 3 p.m.
All of the Nittany Lion's home matches can be followed through the link for live stats at http://www.gopsusports.com/livestats/c-tennis/xlive.htm. Make sure to "like" the Penn State Women's Tennis page on Facebook and follow @PSUWomensTennis on Twitter!